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Nerd Alert: China Now Has the World's Most Powerful Computer

China adds another technological feat to its resume by creating the world's fastest supercomputer: the Tianhe-1A. For those not in the know, supercomputers are systems that combine thousands of small servers and use software to turn them into one powerful entity. Reports have the Tianhe-1A pushing 1.4 times the power of the previous U.S.-built title holder, which lies somewhere in a national lab in Tennessee. Of course, the U.S. has announced plans to snatch back the crown, but until then Hu Jintao can kick back and get really good at chess, or whatever it is people do with supercomputers. [NY Times]